Punjab, one of the northernmost states of India, is bordered by the Pakistani province of Punjab to its west, Jammu & Kashmir in the north, Himachal Pradesh in the northeast, Haryana in the south and southeast, and Rajasthan in the southwest.

The confluence of five rivers makes Punjab’s agricultural land rich and productive. Approximately, 82% of the state’s land is under cultivation, compared with the national average of 40%.

Punjab is known as the ‘Breadbasket of India’ and led to the first Green Revolution in the country. By 2025, it is expected that the state will be among the leading producers of non-food grains and an exporter of various agri-products. Punjab alone contributes to 19% (wheat), 11% (rice), 5% (cotton), 10% (milk), 20% (honey) and 48% (mushrooms) grown in the country.

The state provides investment opportunities in sectors such as textiles, agro-based industries, IT & ITeS, automotive and auto components, sports goods, and light engineering goods.

Punjab is the source of 95% of India’s woollen knitwear production, 85% of India’s sewing machine production, and 75% of India’s sports goods production.

Punjab’s road, rail and air transport network, connectivity, construction of bridges and infrastructure facilities are rated among the best in the country.

As of FY24, Punjab has a total installed power generation capacity of 14455.87 MW, with 3932.85 MW under the central sector, 3281.20 MW under state utilities, and 7241.82 MW under the private sector. Of the total installed power generation capacity, 8364.00 MW was contributed by thermal power, 3827.44 MW by hydropower, and 2067.62 MW was generated from renewable energy.

The Punjab government has chosen to develop a super Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) compliant building in Mohali to encourage energy conservation and highlight the energy efficiency of buildings.

According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), cumulative FDI inflow in the state stood at US$ 1,141.8 million between October 2019-March 2024.

In September 2022, the World Bank approved a US$ 150 million loan to Punjab to enhance access to public services and assist the state in managing its budgetary resources better.

The education sector in Punjab Budget gets 12% boost and focuses on infrastructure development. The proposed outlay for the education sector, comprising primary and higher education, is US$ 2.06 billion (Rs. 17,072 crore).

Punjab has easy procedures to set up a business, according to a study by the World Bank and KPMG. Punjab had set up a Bureau of Investment Promotion (BIP) in December 2013 for one-stop clearance of investment proposals. BIP has powers to give approvals related to pollution control, excise and taxation, labour issues, factory licences, boiler registrations, town and country planning, land and power-related issues.

Punjab has emerged as a key hub for textile-based industries including yarn, readymade garments and hosiery. With the development of apparel parks, favourable textile policy and other incentives for the creation of textile infrastructure, the state offers numerous opportunities for investment.

On April 27, 2022, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP), Mr. VK Bhawra, inaugurated a state-of-the-art ‘Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre’ in Mohali to reduce road accident fatalities using futuristic scientific tools of artificial AI and machine learning.

In April 2022, Punjab’s Minister of Health, Dr. Vijay Singla, announced plans to set up 333 urban wellness centres in urban and semi-urban areas across the state.

In September 2021, the Punjab government approved a policy to develop 50-acre townships in New Chandigarh (Mullanpur) due to the rising demand for affordable housing in Chandigarh and Mohali.

In 2021-22, the total production of horticulture crops in the state was estimated to be 8,106.77 thousand metric tonnes and area under production was 439.56 thousand hectares. In 2021-22, the total production of vegetables and fruits was estimated at 5,758.47 thousand metric tonnes and 2,202.10 thousand metric tonnes, respectively.

Top three fruits with the highest production recorded in 2022-23 were Kinnow, Guava and Mangoes. The highest yield was seen in Bananas (61,018 Kgs/ha), Grapes (30,969 Kgs/ha) and Kinnow (26,832 Kgs/ha). However, the production of pear recorded the highest growth of 8.53% followed by 7.82% growth in the production of plum and 6.11% growth in the production of sweet orange.

In FY24, rice exports from the state stood at US$ 862.50 million.

Three mega food parks and one food park in Punjab were notified by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, out of which, one mega food park is already operational, and the second one started partial operation in April 2019.

Punjab’s IT policy and the incentives offered to the IT industry are aimed at promoting Punjab as an attractive destination for the IT industry. Mohali has been developed as an IT and ITeS hub in the state.

Punjab is among the largest producers of cotton and blended yarn as well as mill-made fabrics in India. Ludhiana is often referred to as the ‘Manchester of India. In FY24, Punjab exported cotton yarn worth US$ 778.26 million and ready-made garments (manmade fibres) worth US$ 426.30 million.